a rant

[cruise kitty]

Ok, I'm just ranting...don't really expect any help:)

 

Has anyone ever tried to get peonies at the beginning of April?? Do you realize what they charge for those freakin things!!!! DD's upcoming shower is built around a burlap & peony theme, I had no idea they are out of season & have to be imported. I just paid an absurd amount of $ to have the cake & the tables be covered in fresh peonies... I may as well be using gold plated flowers...I may or may not post this. This whole MOB thing is making me a crazy person.

thanks for listening. I'm going to go drink now. Really.

[simplelife]

Ok, I'm just ranting...don't really expect any help:)

 

Has anyone ever tried to get peonies at the beginning of April?? Do you realize what they charge for those freakin things!!!! DD's upcoming shower is built around a burlap & peony theme, I had no idea they are out of season & have to be imported. I just paid an absurd amount of $ to have the cake & the tables be covered in fresh peonies... I may as well be using gold plated flowers...I may or may not post this. This whole MOB thing is making me a crazy person.

thanks for listening. I'm going to go drink now. Really.

 

The very best advice I got from the florist for my weddign was, if I wanted to stay within a budget, not to have my heart set on a particular type of flower.

If more decorations are needed, you don't have to have actual peonies, you can just use things the COLOR of peonies (Candles, ribbon, etc).

 

Oh the things we do for our kids! Enjoy your drink.

 

BTW. thanks for posting this to remind party planners to consider the seasonability and availability of flowers when setting a theme.

[iheartbda]

The very best advice I got from the florist for my weddign was, if I wanted to stay within a budget, not to have my heart set on a particular type of flower.

If more decorations are needed, you don't have to have actual peonies, you can just use things the COLOR of peonies (Candles, ribbon, etc).

 

Oh the things we do for our kids! Enjoy your drink.

 

BTW. thanks for posting this to remind party planners to consider the seasonability and availability of flowers when setting a theme.

Best advice.

I know a floral designer and she says that is one of the biggest problems they have. People think everything is available all the time.....it IS but then you pay a king's ransom.

[Andee]

When I was planning an event far in advance, I went to the florist's exactly a year before the event and looked at what was in season, so I could select the flowers with that information. I knew I was being obsessive, but it worked for me!

[nrs377]

It's very upsetting to have your heart set on something and find out either you have to pay mega bucks for it or decide on something else. I'm sure she'll love it, and that it is beautiful...I love peonies.

[cruise kitty]

Hey, thanks for the understanding, it is going to be beautiful, we decided that while the cake will have all peonies, the rest of tables will have arrangements with cabbage roses, hydrangeas & moss, blended with the peonies.

 

The scenario for getting the peonies sounds like an action by the UN, they'll be airlifted from some S. American country & then have to bathe in warm water for a few days to force them to be nice & open & fluffy.

 

I know it's awful, worrying about flowers with what's going on in japan & the Mid. East, but we want it to be perfect for her, hence the obsessing!

 

Ok, now I'm off to the nursery to buy coyote urine because the squirrels are burying their nuts in our brand new lawn. :eek:

[Hoyaheel]

I love peonies! Since we built this house 9 years ago, I've planted multiple peony bushes. Short lived but WORTH IT (my MIL and I fight over this repeatedly:rolleyes:)

 

My (much younger;)) sister was married last year and I flew out to help her do some wedding planning - she was pretty clueless about flowers in general. My first piece of advice was - to keep it cheap, stay in season!;) The florists we spoke with were happy I'd already had that conversation with her and didn't need to dissuade her from something she'd had her heart set on....

 

I'm sure the final arrangements will be LOVELY!!!

[kittylady7]

They may be expensive, but I guarantee your daughter will remember them! At my wedding I HAD to have lilacs... even though I was being married in April in Florida. They were super expensive and my florist tried to talk me out of them (I paid for my own wedding) but wanted them so bad I didn't care what they cost. They were gorgeous and my bridal bouquet smelled like heaven. When I look at the pictures, those flowers still make me smile. I'm going to associate the smell of lilacs with the happiest day of my life for the rest of my life. That is what you are giving to your daughter :) And BTW, you are very generous for helping your daughter with the cost of her wedding. She is a lucky woman!

[JanineM]

Peonies are fantastic, but they are so short lived. My mother had two big bushes in front of the house and when she sold that house my sisters dug up the plants and took them to their homes. They only bloomed for maybe 2 or 3 weeks, and the flowers were always covered in ants (they love the sap).

 

Not helpful, I know, but that brought up a fond memory. I still have to have peony candles in the house in June (and they're as impossible to find as the flowers off-season!).

[Hoyaheel]

I have 9 different peony bushes right now - they bloom at different times, so I'll actually have peonies for a month and a half. Takes some of the sting of being "short-lived" away.

 

I don't have much of a problem with ants, either, but don't worry about it when I do - symbiotic relationship & such:p The foliage on my peonies is nice the rest of the summer/early fall, too, so it's a nice plant to have in my front & side landscape beds.

[firefly333]

Ok, I'm just ranting...don't really expect any help:)

 

Has anyone ever tried to get peonies at the beginning of April?? Do you realize what they charge for those freakin things!!!! DD's upcoming shower is built around a burlap & peony theme, I had no idea they are out of season & have to be imported. I just paid an absurd amount of $ to have the cake & the tables be covered in fresh peonies... I may as well be using gold plated flowers...I may or may not post this. This whole MOB thing is making me a crazy person.

thanks for listening. I'm going to go drink now. Really.

 

I did most of the wedding buying for my sisters wedding about 6 months ago. lol

 

I couldnt believe how much a wedding cake costs ...even if the grocery store makes it... for those that never priced one. a tiny one starts at $99 here.

[5326jan]

My youngest son is getting married in July. From experience I can say, it's a lot easier to be MOG! (and a lot cheaper!;)) Didn't cruise the year after DD's wedding!

[clopaw]

My daughter wanted peonies last year for a June 5th wedding, and the florist said it might work and it might not so we went another direction. What she ended up with were Esperanza roses which were very reasonable and open up more like an old fashioned rose. Her husband got her the same roses for Valentine's Day this year.

[cruise kitty]

Thanks again for all the replies, based on our other DD's wedding about 4 years ago, I had a good idea of what to expect price wise for the quality level we'd be looking for... I knew how much cakes were per slice, (if I told my DH that $99 cakes existed I think he would cheerfully hit me over the head & bury my body in the backyard;) I knew her gown, shoes & headpiece would cost as much as a small car, & knew what to expect to pay for linens, umbrellas etc., but somehow these $12 peonies just sent me over the edge.

 

There's one lesson learned here, you cannot show a bride something until you're sure you can easily(or within reason) get it.

 

 

I know this is mostly my own fault... & that's because of what I call "last daughter wedding syndrome" As in: but it's the last wedding we'll get to do, so we might as well get that: (insert: chiavari chairs, blue Badgely Mishka shoes that have to be shipped from chicago in a blizzard, fresh strawberry filling, extra erica koesler tiara that will be cut apart & fused onto the first one in order to have a true One Of A Kind Headpiece) (*caps because DD speaks of it in the same reverent tones usually reserved for icons of a Holy nature)

 

As to why am I on this board so much lately for hours on end...because I am sitting in front of the computer making the monogrammed burlap napkin rings for her shower one at a time, because, (say it with me) "it's the last time I'll get to do this for my daughter":D

[JustUs275]

I completely understand! We have two daughters and gave each one the wedding of their dreams. Although their tastes both actually run simple, they both had their "had to have" special touches on their special day. Where one daughter was excruciatingly choosy when it came to her invitations and wedding cake, the other daughter had her sights set on an extravagant gown. That's what I love about my girls though, their individuality. I love looking at their wedding photos and remembering their special days and that we were able to provide the wedding of their dreams.

 

My one remaining question even now, 7 years later: WHY did they both have to get married in the SAME year??? :confused: :eek: At least one chose April and the other December. ;)

[cowprintrabbit]

:o Reminds me of when I JUST HAD to have sweet peas at my wedding - we were paying for most of it ourselves and really couldn't afford to have them flown in from Holland :confused: My mom ended up sleeping next to flats of sweet peas for months so she could cut them the morning of the wedding and deliver them to the florist...

[cruisin'tex]

Ok, I'm just ranting...don't really expect any help:)

 

Has anyone ever tried to get peonies at the beginning of April?? Do you realize what they charge for those freakin things!!!! DD's upcoming shower is built around a burlap & peony theme, I had no idea they are out of season & have to be imported. I just paid an absurd amount of $ to have the cake & the tables be covered in fresh peonies... I may as well be using gold plated flowers...I may or may not post this. This whole MOB thing is making me a crazy person.

thanks for listening. I'm going to go drink now. Really.

 

Love the pix!!!

[CruiserinCarlsbad]

Cruisekitty, I completely understand what you're talking about and sorry to say it but your post made me laugh. Our oldest daughter is getting married in St. Thomas on the 12th and we are headed there on the Dream leaving on April 9th. I thought that a destination wedding would be fairly straightforward, as my husband and I also got married in St. Thomas off a cruise ship. But apparently I must have had extremely simple and unfashionable taste. I expected her dress to be expensive but am shocked at how much everything else is. Her bouquet (with peonies) is ridiculous, but the dinner reception is costing more than our cruise in a balcony cabin. I shudder every time she brings home another bridal magazine, hoping that she doesn't discover something else she needs. At least she is paying for quite a few of the costs herself. But everytime my husband asks what the running total is, I can't bring myself to tell him!

[baxman]

Our daughter was married three weeks ago. First thing we did when it was over was book a cruise. Had no idea how stressful the wedding planning was until it was done.

[SadieN]

Check out the price of silk flowers. Some really fool the eye.

 

If you live in SoCal never ever get married around New Years. Almost all the flowers get used for the Rose Parade. Voice of Experience

[cruise kitty]

Ok, so the flowers for the cake have been on order for a bit, & I was planning to use hydrangeas for the tables, however, I was at the L.A. flower mart bright & early this morning & one of the vendors had peonies! They were still expensive, but nothing like the florist price, & they're gorgeous! Was worried someone was going to mug me for those flowers as I lugged them to the car, but they're safely home & in water already!

[LiveWell]

Hi CruiseKitty,

 

I just had to tell you that you did a good thing today - brought a smile to a strangers face. I can't remember enjoying reading something quite so much for a long time as I did this thread. I'm so pleased it has had a happy ending - and may your daughter be forever at your service. :)

 

"Ok, now I'm off to the nursery to buy coyote urine because the squirrels are burying their nuts in our brand new lawn."

 

Still smothering laughter over this. I shall look at the neighbours cat with a little more fondness from now on - an occasional dead bird at the doorstep doesn't seem quite so bad.

 

Enjoy the celebrations and I wish your daughter all the very best.

[donaldsc]

You should have asked a guy for the solution - simple - use something else. After all, they are just flowers and they will die.

 

DON

[cruise kitty]

Hi CruiseKitty,

 

I just had to tell you that you did a good thing today - brought a smile to a strangers face. I can't remember enjoying reading something quite so much for a long time as I did this thread. I'm so pleased it has had a happy ending - and may your daughter be forever at your service. :)

 

"Ok, now I'm off to the nursery to buy coyote urine because the squirrels are burying their nuts in our brand new lawn."

 

Still smothering laughter over this. I shall look at the neighbours cat with a little more fondness from now on - an occasional dead bird at the doorstep doesn't seem quite so bad.

 

Enjoy the celebrations and I wish your daughter all the very best.

 

thank you so much! her text to me was one of complete gratitude today! Makes me feel like a good mom!

 

You should have asked a guy for the solution - simple - use something else. After all, they are just flowers and they will die.

 

DON

 

Oh, Don,

 

you cynical man:D cut flowers are already dead;) but a brides rage may last forever!

 

just kidding, she's not a bridezilla, really, but a great kid, who's going to have one fabulous shower!

[cruise kitty]

Hey everyone,

 

showers are over, & I'm almost back to normal, I posted some pics of the cake (with those wretched flowers:D on my flickr page, just click on the link:

 

(I attempted to do this yesterday, which resulted in my posting a link to my sign in page...thanks to the mods for fixing it for me!)